Chinese culture Essay

William Faulkner once tell that The past is not dead. In fact, its not regular past and he could have oratory about the hi humbug of porcelain painting in china. The history of this ancient art lives and breathes in every porcelain carapace we touch and eat off of. It lives and breathes in the humbled villages in China which cling to the past as much as they want to move into the future. We reach the beautiful of city of Yi-xing in the early morning hours. Early enough that the streets were empty and the sun was just peaking by dint of the rows and rows of teatime leaves.The blend of organic greenness and sandy orange reminded me of the beaches of California I had visited at a child. The city of Yi-ing is the home of several tea plantations which stretch as far as the eye can regulate. During the day the rows of teas are cluttered with the social movement of severals humans which look out of place in the purely green surroundings. If you head south through the beautiful m ountains, which look more like hills to me, you reach a deep and clear lake. This lake, Lake Taihu, is where Lu Yu once lived when he wrote his now infamous book about the magic of tea and its role in Chinese culture.Tea porcelain are intimately linked in Chinese culture. Each competing with the other to see which is older and more valued. Upon a close examination of the history it is hard to separate the two. The Chinese Porcelain pulverization sits on the far edge of the city of Yi-ing and is a striking contrast to the hills and valleys that lay in face up of it and beyond it. It is interesting to see the coupling of industrialization and farming in a country which in some places seems oddly untouched by civilization and in other devastated by the pollution from manufacturers and cars.The story of Chinese Porcelain is one of perseverance and beyond that of innovation. Chinese ceramic and porcelain reveal the resourcefulness of Chinese artisans. They debate in their instalments , which are found enclosed in glass in the lobby area of the factory, how they employ the materials that they had and turned them into pieces of pottery that have with stood the test of time. In the Yuan and Mind dynasties, Chinese porcelain applyrs combined porcelain stone with kaolin however kaolin was extremely hard to work with.It was then that Chinese porcelain makers discovered that if you drop anchor kaolin and then added water a malleable substance was created with could be kneaded into porcelain stone. This could easily be organize into pots and vases on the potters wheel. During the drying processes a knife is used to slice excess porcelain from the pottery which accounts for the finespun thinness of Chinese Porcelain. To my surprise once we went into the factory the very same techniques were being used.Centuries later ripe Chinese artisans were paying homage to their centuries old mentors by building pottery in the same fashion. The intertwine is that the new pott ery produced in these factories are brightly colored by hand with a small paint brush. The craftsmanship is perfect and the people here, who are obviously under paid and living in less then optimal condition, absolutely enjoy what they do. They take pride in every piece they make and are more then willing to share their skills with you.Our tour guide informed us that many of the kilns in use at the factory were hundreds of years old. Apparently once a elephantine kiln is established it can be used for hundreds of years. The art of preparing clay and the process which follows is a craft which is passed down(a) again and again from generation to generation. This is why visitors can find subtle differences in glazing processes as headspring as firing processes throughout the villages and cities in China. Porcelain is more then just a container used for tea or food stuff.The art displayed on pieces of Chinese Porcelain reveal the entire history of the Chinese people. From myths to fe ars, historic battles and even home comings. Pottery and porcelain pieces exported during these periods are an excellent source of research materials on the history of Chinas communications, trade, and economic relations with other countries. My trip to city of Yi-ing was memorable for several reasons but close importantly I was reminded of the value of craft within a society.I will never immerse the feel of Chinese Porcelain on my fingertips. The knowledge that something that delicate could last for centuries was truly symbolic of the struggle and governmental strife that the Chinese people have dealt with since its birth. Art is not merely for decoration, entertainment, or even functionality. It serves a much more important purpose. Through art we can see the evolution and exploitation of not just a country like China but the spirit and souls of the people who make their homes and keep their families in those counties.